Who kept track of an Ariane 5 after liftoff?
An Ariane 5 launch campaign from Europe's spaceport did not end with liftoff. As the launcher rised into the sky, ground stations scattered along its path took over to check that it remained on track. Computers on the launcher transmitted data to the ground stations for instant forwarding to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
The number of ground stations used depended on the mission. For instance, the Galliot ground station, named from the mountain in French Guiana where it is located, tracked the first five minutes of an Ariane 5 launch into geostationary transfer orbit.
Then, a tracking station in Natal on the coast of Brazil took over for the next 3 minutes, during which the main stage separated and the second stage ignited. The next ground station to follow the track of the Ariane 5 was on Ascension Island, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From here the launcher was tracked for approximately 9 minutes until the satellites were injected into geostationary transfer orbit. There are many other ground stations scattered around the world. They are used to track launchers and also to gather and transmit data from satellites in orbit.
Transportable tracking stations
A development that commenced in 2000 was the use of a transportable tracking station. These were first used during the first operational flight of an Ariane 5, when it launched ESA’s XMM satellite. This transportable tracking station provided more flexibility.
